---
title: "Understanding Internal Gift Cards"
canonical: "https://kb.myframeworks.com.au/space/FRAM/179011627/Understanding%20Internal%20Gift%20Cards"
format: markdown
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# Overview

> Macro (excerpt)
> 
> Gift cards give timber and building supply businesses a flexible way to accept payments, helping improve customer service. Instead of using external providers with fees and complicated setups, Frameworks' Internal Gift Card system lets you handle everything in-house — from creating cards to redeeming and issuing refunds.

## Internal Gift Cards Explained

Internal Gift Cards are a payment method that works like store credit, managed entirely within your Frameworks system. Unlike external gift card programs that require third-party processors or APIs, internal gift cards are controlled by your business with no external dependencies.

When a customer purchases a gift card, the transaction creates a liability on your books rather than recognising immediate revenue. This liability reduces as the card is redeemed for goods or services, with revenue recognised at the point of redemption. This approach provides accurate financial reporting whilst giving customers a convenient purchasing option.

Frameworks maintains complete transaction history for each card, tracks current balances in real-time, and supports multiple transaction types including sales, partial redemptions, and refunds. Cards can be sold and redeemed at any branch within your company, with all activity recorded for audit purposes.

# Key Components

### 1. Gift Card Types

1. **Fixed Value Cards: **Gift cards with preset denominations such as $25, $50, or $100. These cards simplify the sales process at busy trade counters as the amount is pre-determined by the product configuration. They're ideal for promotional campaigns or standardised offerings.
2. **Variable Value Cards: **Gift cards where the operator enters any agreed amount at the point of sale. This flexibility allows customers to purchase cards for specific project values or custom amounts, making them suitable for trade customers with varying material requirements.

### 2. Gift Card Registry

The central database where all gift cards are registered before sale. This registry ensures each card number is unique, prevents duplicate sales, and maintains the current status and balance for every card in your system. Cards must be pre-registered before they can be sold at the point of sale.

### 4. Card Status Tracking

Frameworks automatically manages four status levels throughout a card's lifecycle:

- **Registered**: Card entered in the registry, awaiting sale
- **Active**: Card sold and available for redemption
- **Redeemed**: Card used for payment or has received refund credit
- **Used**: Card balance depleted to zero

# What occurs during the gift card process?

Unlike account sales where revenue is recognised immediately, gift card transactions create financial liabilities that reduce as cards are redeemed. This distinction is important for accurate financial reporting and GST treatment. When a customer purchases a gift card, you're essentially holding their money until they select and purchase goods, at which point the liability converts to revenue.

The internal management approach differs from external gift card programs by eliminating integration complexity, transaction fees, and third-party dependencies. Your staff control the entire process within Frameworks, from determining which cards to register through to processing refunds back to cards.

## The Gift Card Process Steps

1. **Register Cards in the Gift Card Registry: **Navigate to the Gift Card Registry, create a new entry with the card number and type, set status as either new (Registered) or pre-existing with current balance, then save.
2. **Sell Gift Cards at Point of Sale: **Scan the gift card product at POS, enter the card number in the Voucher field, complete the sale using standard tendering—the card activates immediately upon payment.
3. **Redeem Gift Cards as Payment: **During tendering, select Internal Gift Card as the payment type, scan the card number, and enter the payment amount (partial payments allowed).
4. **Check Card Balances: **Use the Internal Gift Card Check Balance utility to scan a card number and view the current balance and full transaction history.
5. **Process Refunds to Gift Cards: **When creating a credit note for returned goods, select Internal Gift Card as the tender type and scan the card number to credit the refund amount back to the card.

> ✅ Refer to [Processing Internal Gift Cards/Vouchers at POS, SOP, and Account Payment](https://sterlandsupport.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CO/pages/199524353) for more detailed instructions.

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# Additional Information

> ✅ Refer to the [Internal Gift Cards Setup and Configuration](https://sterlandsupport.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FRAM/pages/179011634) for detailed technical configuration steps, GL account structure, and integration with existing Frameworks modules.